Shell model study of neutron rich oxygen isotopes

TL;DR

This study uses shell model calculations with various interactions to analyze low-lying energy states of neutron-rich oxygen isotopes, revealing insights into nuclear structure and magic numbers.

Contribution

It compares empirical and realistic interactions in shell model calculations, highlighting their effectiveness in reproducing experimental energy spectra of oxygen isotopes.

Findings

Empirical interactions reproduce experimental energy levels well.

Realistic interactions have small deviations but sometimes incorrect level ordering.

Sharp rise in 2+ state energy at N=16 indicates magic number.

Abstract

Shell model calculations for low lying energy states of neutron rich oxygen isotopes 19O, 20O, 21O, 22O, 23O, 24O, 25O, 26O have been performed using OXBASH code. The configuration space consists of 0d5/2, 1s1/2, 0d3/2 orbital for neutrons outside the 16O core. Different interactions namely, Wildenthal, Preedom-Wildenthal, Wildenthal-Mcgrory and renormalized Kuo and Brown, which are either empirical or realistic in nature have been used in the calculation, The calculated energy spectrum are in good agreement with the experimental data wherever available for the empirical interactions and the correct ordering of levels is reproduced. The levels obtained from realistic interactions, though have a small rms deviation, do not reproduce the correct ordering in some of the cases. In the case of 21O, realistic interactions predict a much too compressed 1/2+ state at energy 0.157 MeV compared to the experimental value of 1.218 MeV. For even isotopes the variation of the energy of the first 2+exited state has been studied as a function of neutron number N. A sharp rise in the value is observed at N=16 for both empirical and realistic interactions and only at N=14 for empirical interactions. Significantly higher energy of first 2+ exited state compared to the value in the neighboring even-even nuclei is considered as a signature for magic nuclei at N=14 and N=16.